A. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to medical measurement equipment. More particularly, the present invention pertains to internal measurement devices. Even more particularly, the present invention pertains to surgical finger enclosures and gloves equipped with means for making internal measurements.
B. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is well known to those skilled in the medical and particularly the gynecological and obstetric arts that the dimensions of organs, accessable by pelvic or vaginal examination may be of great relevance in evaluating the condition of the patient.
Such interior measurements are particularly important during labor and delivery wherein the rate and degree of dilation of the cervix provide critical information to the physician as to the progress and normalcy of the delivery. Therefore, vaginal and pelvic examinations are normally carried out several times during a normal delivery.
However, it is also well known that even under the most scrupulously sterile conditions, a vaginal examination will result in the introduction of bacteria to the uterus. It is therefore desirable that such examinations be performed efficiently in order to limit their number and duration.
As the rate as well as the extent of dilation is a factor in evaluating the progress of labor, accurate measurement of the cervix is desired. Such measurements during labor and delivery are often approximated by the physician who manually or visually estimates the dimensions of the cervical opening. Measurement instruments for measuring the dilation of the uterus are also known. However, during labor, the introduction of bacteria by the examination, as well as the inconvenience and discomfort caused the patient by the examination dictate that such examinations are best done simply and quickly and, in so far as possible, with minimal use of measurement equipment.
Thus, great benefits would be realized by incorporating into a standard surgical examination glove, or into finger enclosures compatible therewith, measurement means whereby the dimensions of interior, anatomical parts, and, in particular, measurements of the dilation of the cervix, could be effected quickly and without the introduction of obtrusive measurement instruments.
Thus, an object of the present invention is to provide a means for simplifying and increasing the accuracy of internal measurements, particularly that of the dilation of the uterus during labor.
A further object of the present invention is to provide examination finger enclosures or gloves with means whereby accurate measurements of internal, anatomical parts may be effected without the introduction of measurement instruments and equipment.